International freight ship on the Caltropic Lakes, north of the Midway Canal

Kichirou Nishimura, director of the Midway Canal Authority (MCA), today signed an order which doubled rates for use of the important Midway Canal.

The Midway Canal connects the otherwise-landlocked Caltropic Lakes and Carina Sea to the larger Terran ocean system, making it a vital conduit for trade for the interior states of Dovani - Utari Mosir, Ostland, New Verham, Liore, and Cifutingan.

The canal cuts through the Republic of Midway at its narrowest point - and was a major feat of engineering to construct

In a press conference, Nishimura explained on behalf of the MCA that the move to double usage fees comes as a result of the need for major maintenance and improvement to the Canal's numerous lock systems, as well as years of undercharging. The MCA maintains that the new fees more realistically reflect the cost of running the Canal.

Skeptics suggest that Nishimura and Midway (which owns the MCA and which profits from its success) are in fact war profiteering. Terra's global conflicts of late have caused exports of raw materials from Dovani to surge as the continent has remained relatively untouched by conflict, and usage of the Canal has skyrocketed.

Corporations based in the Dovani interior have raised concerns that they will not be able to compete with other nations given the price of utilizing the Canal, and the nations of the Dovani interior have already begun to formally protest the unilateral move by Midway. Cifutingan in particular, which imports goods heavily through the Canal, has protested the cost increase and has even suggested that it might organize a summit of Dovani's interior nations to discuss courses of action.

It is likely that the move will have some significant impact on the price of raw materials in the rest of Terra, particularly while production is focused on global conflict in the areas out side of Dovani.

A release from the Zardic Institute of International Relations has revealed that, for the first time in history a Dovani nation, not Indrala, has become the world's financial capital for safekeeping money.

The Commonwealth of Dalibor moved up this quarter to the location "most desirable to hold financial capital" with many financial firms citing the utter lack of taxes, the ironclad privacy laws, and lack of nearly any kind of regulation on the work place added together to give Dalibor the title of "Corporate Capital of the World" with most international concerns keeping an office or corporate headquarters in Dalibor, usually for tax reasons.

One of Dalibor's Casinos

Dalibor has been a rising star in the Dovani economic sphere in recent years. Decades of injections of cash from the Eastern Development Organization propelled helped the government build up the necessary infrastructure to become mostly self sufficient, into Dovani's fastest growing economy, anchored by its solid financial sector along with powerful tourism and gambling interests; Dalibor City become Terra's gambling capital ten years ago.

Relations between the central Dovani nations of Utembo and Bianjie have reached a new low as it has been reported that King Ahmed VII's daughter Princess Ashanti has been kidnapped as she was touring the eastern border between the two nations.

An alleged slaver force from the Bianjie Khanate raided across the border, slaughtering the Princess' Royal Guards and seizing her and the other women in her entourage before escaping back across the border. King Ahmed VII has demanded the immediate return of his daughter or else "The vile scum and filth of the Khanate will suffer our full wrath."

Slave raids between the two nations are quite common though up to this point, by an unspoken agreement, both sides avoided targeting the nobility of the other, confining their raids purely to the common folks of their respective nations. This move by Khan An Cong comes as both sides have been slowly gearing up for war for years, both seeking the fertile lands the central valley between them offer.

King Ahmed VII is desperate to retrieve his only daughter and heir; the elderly King is 79 and has been unable to produce any further heirs in many years and his original three sons have died through various means throughout the years, his eldest having died of a massive drug overdose, his second assassinated and his third dying of a rare heart attack at a young age. Princess Ashanti was born to the King's fifth wife, herself dying in child birth, 16 years ago.

A bloody and viscous coup has occurred in the southern Dovani nation of Xsampa as Yu Puyang, one of the last male descendants of the disposed Wu Dynasty from Indrala, has seized control in the capital, killing the last King in a public spectacle.

King Puyang has stated he has claimed the throne by "Right of Conquest and Blood" as one of his ancestors had actually married a Xsampian Princess, giving the Wu Dynasty a greater claim to the throne then the Xsampians himself.

Wu Puyang made his name throughout Dovani as head of Wu Security Solutions, a immense and powerful private military firm, whose mercenaries have been tracked throughout the continent working for various warlords able to pay their huge fees. Many of Wu's Mercenaries comes from various Dovani military special forces, and are exceedingly well equipped and organized.

Wu's company had in fact been in Xsampa on the payroll of the Royal Government protecting key government facilities, Wu himself being a Special Adviser to the King of Internal Defence and Military matters. From the looks of it Wu used this chance to intergrain himself within the Xsampian government, currying favor with the Royal Army has many of its battalions and Regiments declared their allegiance to him within minutes of his declaration of rule.

Violence filled the capital as factions of the Royal Army either defected or were put down by Puyang's highly experienced and well equipped army of mercenaries, with King Puyang declaring martial law throughout the country.

While most of the country appears to have simply taken to the new leadership, there is a growing resistance movement that had resisted the Xsampian Diarchy's attempts to control them in the past. The Path to the Dawn was a militant Daenist sect that tolerated the Diarchy and held a fragile ceasefire with them. This has been blown wide open with skirmishes reported throughout most of northern Xsampa.

The infamous Pirate of Rapa Pile have struck again, seizing a massive freighter from New Verham, loaded with goods from the central Dovani nation and bound for Vanuku, kidnapping its crew and making off with the freighter and its good. This has been the second major seizure by the Pirates of Rapa Pile in the past month.

The Pirate stuck the freight just southwest of Kurageri after it cleared the Midway canal. The Republic of Midway has already stated that it can only ensure the security of international shipping while in its national waters; once its in international waters it is quite literally fair game. This has lead to major success by the Rapa Pile Pirates in preying on unescorted freighters and transports

Rapa Pile, a small island nation just south of Kurageri, has served as the home for these pirates and their huge fleet of attack boats for decades, though its been noted in recent years they have become increasingly well equipped and organized, having seemingly been united in a loose affilation of "Pirate Lords" that work together rather against one another. This lack of rivalry has meant sharing of profits, weapons and bounty. The Rapa Pile Government has been widely ineffective at combating them, with many independent analysts believing that the Pirates and the Government may have a quiet agreement between the two with still others believing it may go as far as the Pirates are outright buying off government officials to stay out of their business.

The latest freighter was carrying an estimated 12.6 Million LOD worth of goods which will be seized by the pirates and either released back to the company after it pays a large ransom or sold on the black market to allow the pirates to continue their activity.

Peacekeeping Force sent to Utembo and Bianjie.Kazulian Peacekeeping force sent to Utembo and Bianjie to calm tensions.Kazulian Peacekeepers "UBFOR" sent into Utembo and Bianjie with obsolete military hardware. 11th December, 4190

The Government has taken a hardline stance against instability within the region. With tensions between Utembo and Bianjie increasingly daily as a result of a cross-border skirmish between the two nations, the Kongeforsvar (the Royal Kazulian Defence Force) has sent an intervention/peacekeeping force to both countries as a means of quelling the heated tensions between the two nations. The peacekeeping force known as "UBFOR" (Utembo-Bianjie Force), consists of a voluntary force of active duty soldiers and veterans of the Kongeforsvar, with most being able to speak Bianjie and Kitembo in some form or fashion. According to officials from the Defence Ministry, the intervention/peacekeeping operation has one goal: prevent an armed conflict between Utembo and Bianjie.

The equipment which the intervention/peacekeeping force are carrying with them contains of mainly obsolete armored personnel carriers and an intervention task force (consisting of a medical company, an engineer company and a few transport planes for equipment mobility). This peacekeeping is not cited by the World Congress but is the lone act of the Government of the Kingdom of Kazulia. Commanding Officer of UBFOR, Lieutenant Colonel Haakon Underberg stated: "The Government has communicated with the Governments of the Kingdom of Utembo and the Khanate of Bianjie on establishing the peacekeeping force. Both governments have shown partial acceptance of the move."

According to Lieutenant Colonel Underberg, the intervention/peacekeeping force will establish a temporary demilitarized zone (DMZ) along the border of Utembo and Bianjie. Official statistics say that the peacekeeping force consists of around eight hundred (800) soldiers including logistical staff. Underberg has warned those who seek to instigate tensions: "We are here to promote peace within this part the region, instigators of tensions should distance themselves from this part of the region. We may be here to promote peace, however, if peace in this region is threatened by instigators the clenched fist of the Kongeforsvar will have no mercy."

It appears that Kazulia is re-engaging with its region, seeing that is gradually becoming a regional power, it intends on ensuring stability in its region. For unstable tensions in the region is not beneficial to the northern kingdom.

The injection of Kazullian peacekeepers appears to be calming the delicate situation between Utembo & Bianjie for the time being but many analysts are claiming it won't last.

Professor Trisha Shiro, a Sekowan researcher with the Zardic Institute of International Studies, and an expert on Dovani spoke on the matter.

Despite what Kazullia may wish I think its fair to say Utembo and Bianjie are holding themselves back of their own free will, rather then the threat of having Kazullian peacekeepers show up to the situation. The King is an elderly man whose sole heir is being "held" across the border. He won't make a move for fear of harming her. The Khan on the other hand only has to wait until the King dies of old age, which considering his 93 years, could be any day now. For the Khan, its a matter of patience.

Rumors have been rampant that the Khan privately wedded the Crown Princess several years ago so that any offspring that springs from their union, willing or not, will automatically have a claim on the Utembian throne. Most analysts believe that the Khan will simply wait for the death of the King, declare his son King and himself Regent before attempting to push across the border though the Utembian Government has stated in no uncertain terms. "We will accept only an heir as accepted by His Majesty and currently there are none."

War has broken out between the Kingdom of Utembo and the Bianjie Khanate as Utembo is reeling from the death of their elderly King Ahmed VII who died at 93. Within hours of the Royal Palace announcing his death Khan An Cong declared his infant son, Prince Ta Phac with his wife Princess Ashanti of Utembo, King of Utembo as King Ahmed VIII with himself serving as King Regent in his son's infancy.

The Royal Palace rejected that claim with King Ahmed's nephew, Prince Ifu, being proclaimed King and declaring war on the Bianjie in the name of saving his cousins. The presence of the Kazullian peacekeeping force has done little to stem the tide between the two nations as brigades have begun clashing across the border.

Elements of the 1st Royal Armored Brigade advancing into Bianjie

Bianjie Heavy Infantry Defending the border

Bianjie Khanate forces have been widely advancing in the south while the Utembo's main thrust in the north, hardening by recently acquired foreign armor, has been their chief push. In the centre, where Kazullian UBFOR is keeping the two nation's away from each other, but its quite apparent this at Khan An Cong and Prince Ifu's tolerance, rather then any concern for being outmatched for the small mechanized battalion.

King Pu Yang Executes Foreign Spies on National TV

Earlier today King Pu Yang announced he had executed two "foreign spies" on national television. The first foreign agent was executed by boiling in steaming water and his body being cooked and served at a state banquet while the second foreign spy was executed, via one of King Pu Yang's favorite methods, by being feed to his pet Tiger. As a particularly twisted sense of the King's own dark sense of humor, the first agent that had been cooked was served to two remaining foreign agents the King has declared are apart of the same cell, as their sole source of rations for days without their knowledge.

King Pu Yang

Let this be a warning to any Foreign Agents or Terrorists that are meddling in internal Xsampian affairs. You will be hunted, you will be found, and you will be served justice... in one way of the other.

King Pu Yang has not stated one way or the other what country that the foreign cell is from nor whether he had discovered more but it is noted that he has recalled elements of the Royal Guard back into Rygal Province, even as the rest of the Royal Army continued an aggressive push at routing out the Path of the Dawn in the north.